Shuckin’ Fried Oysters

For years, picking and shucking oysters formed the basis of the Daufuskie economy. My great-grandparents and grandparents, as well as many people of my parents’ generation, were skilled workers at the old concrete-block oyster factory on the island’s south end. Oyster shells paved our roads and reinforced our boat landing against erosion.

Oystermen and -women worked during the cooler months—those with an “r” in their names—under layers of clothes, their hands covered in old socks to